Stranger Danger

Chapter 864: Animitta Heavenly Demon’s Heart

As for whether it would backfire on Feng Qingyou and actually worsen her existing injury, he wasn’t worried.

He just needed to ask the Annon Sutra.

Honestly, he wasn’t expecting to find such an impressive item during the Dragonmount Meet. If the Fruit of Wishes could treat Feng Qingyou’s injury outright, then it would be a happy ending as a matter of course. At the very least, it would have saved them a lot of trouble.

Even if the answer he received from the Annon Sutra was negative, they could still use it for other purposes. In any case, it was a win-win situation.

“The next item is the grand finale of our Dragonmount Meet. I’m sure that a lot of you are here for it.”

Zui Yun’s complexion was rosy on the Lampfire Tower. It made her look even more vibrant and attractive than she already was.

As Zui Yun spoke, a wisp of flame lifted the jade box into the air.

“Can you guess what is stored inside this jade box, my dear guests?” Zui Yun asked smilingly.

“Do we get a prize if we guess correctly?”

“Please don’t keep us in suspense any longer, Fairy Zui Yun!”

“Yeah, we can’t wait any longer.”

“Hahaha... very well. I shan’t dilly dally any longer.” Zui Yun giggled before waving her hand. “Please, have a look.”

Zui Yun waved her hand, and the jade box swung open. The item stored inside the box... was a heart.

The heart was about as big as an infant’s fist and black as ink. It was such a pure, flawless color that the heart looked far more mysterious and exotic than scary.

The heart was at least tens of meters from the closest guest, but everyone could feel a deep, immense, and unfathomable presence and power residing within it. It made them feel small, cold, and afraid like a mortal facing down the heavens themselves.

Thump!

It was at this moment the heart suddenly beat once like it was alive. Loud and clear like the drumbeat of a divine being. A wave of dizziness immediately struck the audience, and everyone’s vigor churned unsteadily inside their veins. The weaker warriors actually bled from all orifices and fell unconscious from that one heartbeat.

Before anyone could react, deep, immense demonic energy and power washed out and dyed the entire Lampfire Palace pure black in an instant. The wave of demonic energy and power was such that everyone’s mental defenses were shaking unsteadily, and countless hallucinations beset their minds. As their heart devils and inner desires were slowly dragged out into the open, the audience actually showed signs of deviation and plunging into the Dark Ways.

At the last moment, the sea of flames surrounding the Lampfire Tower transformed into countless chains and wrapped tightly around the jade box. It was only then the anomalous power was suppressed, and the Lampfire Palace returned to normal.

“Pwack!”

“Pwack!”

When the demonic energy and power had finally subsided, countless people snapped back to reality at the same time they threw up a mouthful of fresh blood. Their complexions were pale, and their eyes were stunned.

On the Lampfire Tower, Zui Yun dipped into a bow and apologized, “Ahem... sorry, sorry. I wasn’t expecting the heart to be so potent. This is an error on our behalf. When the Dragonmount Meet ends, we promise to compensate you properly for your woes.”

You weren’t expecting it to be this potent? What a liar. This old woman is quite the wicked one, isn’t she?

Countless members of the audience were having such thoughts. It was because they could see that Zui Yun, the person standing the closest to the heart, wasn’t affected at all. Clearly, she was well-prepared for this “accident”.

As for why she did it, it was quite simple. It was to show off the heart’s potency and facilitate its sale.

Everyone knew what Zui Yun was plotting, but no one could be bothered to split hairs with her. It was because their focus was fully drawn by the heart.

Inside the pavilion, Ye Qing had jumped to his feet before he knew it and was staring at the heart with a fervent look in his eyes. “What on earth is that heart, Qingyou?”

Nearly everyone in the heart had suffered to varying degrees by the demonic energy and power unleashed by the heart, but it was the complete opposite for Ye Qing. In fact, he felt better than he ever had before.

It was because the heart contained some of the purest demonic qi and demonic energy he had ever felt. Actually, scratch that, it was even purer than the demonic qi of Rahu back at the Demon’s Tomb, meaning that it was the purest demonic qi he had ever felt.

The qualities of this demonic qi also suited him far better than Rahu’s demonic qi, which was tyrannical and violent. To be specific, the heart’s demonic qi was more mysterious, ephemeral, and anomalous much like the demonic qi and demonic thought produced by his “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”.

Just a few breaths of exposure to the heart’s demonic energy had increased his spirit and demonic thought by a small but visible rate. He was extremely excited to find out that the heart’s demonic qi was extremely compatible with his “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”.

If he could obtain the heart, if he could refine every wisp of demonic qi and demonic energy inside the heart as his own, he was certain that his Paranirmita Vasavartin Heaven and Heavenly Demonic Yin God would grow dramatically. He might even be able to evolve his yin god into a yang god and become a Trueman in one go.

Yes, he was tempted. Out of all the items that were displayed in the auction, this was the one he desired from the bottom of his heart.

“If I’m not mistaken, that is the heart of the Animitta[2] Heavenly Demon.”

Feng Qingyou took note of the excitement on Ye Qing’s face and remarked, “Your cultivation art is quite compatible with the demonic qi of the Animitta Heavenly Demon. It will be a great boon to you.”

“The heart of the Animitta Heavenly Demon? No wonder!” Ye Qing exclaimed in astonishment.

As if on cue, someone from the audience shouted, “Is that the heart of the Animitta Heavenly Demon, Miss Zui Yun?!” Clearly, they recognized the heart as well.

“A wise and accurate deduction, dear guest. Correct, this is the heart of the Animitta Heavenly Demon,” Zui Yun answered.

“What is an Animitta Heavenly Demon, Miss Zui Yun?” Another person asked.

“An Animitta Heavenly Demon is one of the thirty three Heavenly Demon Gods from the Beyond, and it resides in the Animitta Heaven. Possessing boundless power and exquisite arts, it is formless, shapeless, and a master of transformation. It enjoys transforming into anything and everything, and its hobby is toying with mortals and tempting them into the Dark Ways.”

Zui Yun explained smilingly, “The lifelong power of an Animitta Heavenly Demon is stored within its heart. So long as the heart isn’t destroyed, an Animitta Heavenly Demon can never die.”

“The heart before your eyes is the heart of an Animitta Heavenly Demon. It contains the full, flawless, unblemished power of an Animitta Heavenly Demon.”

“If I remember correctly, the Animitta Heavenly Demon is an Ancient-class Stranger, right Miss Zui Yun? It is formless, shapeless, exceedingly powerful, and beyond difficult to kill. So how on earth were you able to obtain its heart, and in such perfect condition too?” Someone asked with puzzlement.

The person’s curiosity was shared by Ye Qing as well. The Animitta Heavenly Demon was one of the most powerful Strangers in its weight class. Only a Sage possessed the power to kill it, and even then, they might not necessarily obtain its heart. However, the heart before his eyes was perfectly intact in both form and power. How on earth did the organizers manage to obtain it?

“Hahaha... it is very simple. This heart is the prize won by the Turtle Fishing Man, the Whaler, the Dragon King of the East Sea, and the Sea-Stirring Great Sage after slaying an Animitta Heavenly Demon together.”

Zui Yun did not hide the story from them. “Several months ago, the Animitta Heavenly Demon had harassed one hundred and eight islands in the eastern sea and seduced over a hundred thousand people into damnation. Luckily, the Turtle Fishing Man, the Whaler, the Dragon King of the East Sea, and the Sea-Stirring Great Sage happened to be nearby when this tragedy occurred. So, they worked together to slay the Animitta Heavenly Demon and obtain its heart.”

“The Animitta Heavenly Demon is useless to them, so they entrusted us to process it accordingly.”

1. Note, just the money. The assets like items, properties etc are still in his hands. Too bad cash isn’t exactly a thing in this world or there would be less confusion. ☜

2. Meaning signlessness. ☜